Ngo's podcast and advocacy are challenging outdated norms in the legal profession
Legacy in business and life, for Steven Ngo, isn’t about titles or accolades – it’s about the mark you leave on people, especially your children. As senior counsel at Rivian, adjunct professor at the Allard School of Law, and co-founder of Beyond the A, which aims to destigmatize anxiety for lawyers, Ngo’s career is defined by a restless drive to challenge norms and a willingness to talk about what others avoid.
Fatherhood changed his outlook. Before becoming a parent, Ngo struggled to find resources that spoke to his experience. “When I was in my pre-fatherhood stage, about four years ago, I couldn’t quite relate to the materials that are out there,” he says. The available content focused on basics like diaper changing and breastfeeding, but ignored the realities of career identity and ambition for fathers. “There wasn’t really any content for dads, by dads, things about career identity, navigating those ambitions,” he says. So he created what he couldn’t find, launching the podcast Two Dads One Car. The project started as a personal experiment, but quickly found an audience. “Who knew that this would actually take off?” Ngo says. Guests on Ngo's podcast have included Federal Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Gregor Robertson and BC Premier David Eby.
Like many of the dads he interviewed on his podcast, parenthood forced him to recalibrate. He describes himself as “10 times more patient, 10 times more present, 10 times more intentional with my actions.” The shift was profound, driving him to seek deeper meaning in both family and work.
The car, for Ngo, is more than a podcast prop. It’s a symbol of connection and reflection, rooted in his own childhood. “My dad was a mechanic when I was young, and we would go on these road trips together…those are actually the moments that we got to talk,” he says. That tradition continues as he records episodes while driving, creating space for honest conversations about fatherhood and ambition.
Lawyers made up the bulk of his early podcast guests, but Ngo’s wife challenged him to broaden the scope. “When I first kicked off the podcast, because a lot of my network was primarily lawyers, I think 50 of my guests were lawyers. And then my wife was like, ‘Stephen, let’s consider other professions,’” he says. The show evolved, exposing barriers in the legal profession – especially around parental leave and shifting gender roles.
At Rivian, Ngo’s legal work sits at the intersection of technology and law. He played a crucial role in launching the company’s Canadian operations, navigating a maze of regulations and compliance hurdles. “This has been a dream role. This is a role that I could not have even imagined five [or] 10 years ago,” he says. The complexity of the job was daunting. “It’s literally trying to navigate everything from marketing regulations to compliance to what they call homologation. It’s a word that I didn’t even know existed, but it essentially means how do you equip a vehicle so you’re allowed to drive it in that country? Things like daytime running lights, the way that labels are set up, [is] very detailed [and] complex,” Ngo says.
Now, his responsibilities include overseeing AI legal tech transactions. He’s skeptical of the hype, preferring to focus on practical realities. “Frankly, I think it might be overhyped in some sense. And so trying to understand what is the practical reality, what is the path here? And that’s a really fun part, because things are ever-changing and navigating that complexity,” he says.
Ngo’s advocacy for access to justice and diversity is rooted in personal experience. The pandemic exposed deep social fractures. “During the pandemic, many of us saw our neighbours, our friends, our colleagues being attacked just [because of] the colour of their skin. And I was also a victim,” he says. That experience sharpened his focus on using technology to break down barriers, especially for those facing language obstacles in the justice system.
Mental health in law is another area where Ngo refuses to look away. He founded Beyond the A after a personal crisis early in his career. “I recall distinctly a moment, maybe five years into my practice, I was working at one of the magic circle firms over in Southeast Asia. I was ... hitting all these markers. I was working as an expat. I had this beautiful apartment, ... this life that I [couldn't have imagined before]. But I was feeling so hollow inside. I was feeling 'Oh man, there’s something going on.' And I started to feel the onset of depression, anxiety, stress. My behaviour was changing. And I was reaching a breaking point, [thinking] what is going on here?” he says. He’s blunt about the profession’s shortcomings. “Even the words anxiety and mental health were taboo topics before the pandemic ... I think it’s still a challenge, ... it’s still something that is unseen and swept under the rug,” Ngo says.
His advice to young lawyers is uncompromising. “Oftentimes, the narrative is that it’s one or the other. It’s like you can either only focus on your career or you can only do community [work]. But that’s not really the case. I think there are ways to navigate both and weave them in,” he says. For Ngo, fulfillment comes from using the privilege of the legal profession to advocate, support and drive change – making the profession better for those who come next.
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